Panthers snatch last-over victory from Leopards

Peshawar outfit achieves four-wicket win in Group C match.

KARACHI: Peshawar Panthers secured a thrilling four-wicket win on the penultimate ball of the innings against Group C opponents Islamabad Leopards on Tuesday, thereby winning their second match of the National T20 Cup taking place at the National Stadium, Karachi.

Chasing 157, Panthers reached their target for the loss of six wickets with one delivery to spare. Muhammad Fayyaz scored 39 off 22 balls, smashing seven hits to the fence, including a last-over four. Adil Amin was the other top scorer of the innings with the same number of runs. Shehzad Azam and Imad Wasim took two wickets each, while Umar Gul claimed a solitary scalp.

Batting first, Babar Azam scored a 51-ball 70 for Leopards as Taj Wali bagged three wickets to help restrict them to 156 in their allotted 20 overs.

In another match, Farrukh Shehzad hit a rapid 50 to guide Faisalabad Wolves to an eight-wicket victory over Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Jaguars in their Group C fixture.

Opener Farrukh Shehzad remained unbeaten, accumulating a 38-ball 72 with two sixes and nine boundaries to enable Wolves to reach the 135-run target in 15 overs at the loss of two wickets, which were taken by Irfan Talib.

Earlier, Jaguars posted a low total of 135-4 with captain Raheel Majeed’s 49-ball 60 the only notable contribution in their innings. Khurram Shehzad, Asad Ali, Imran Khalid and Jahandad Khan took one wicket each.

Ibexes achieve last-gasp victory over Stags

A half-century by Najeebullah and a timely bowling attack by the Dera Murad (DM) Jamali Ibexes steered them towards a close one-run victory over Bahawalpur Stags in their second Group D match.

Choosing to bat first, Ibexes posted a 141-run target for a loss of seven wickets as Najeebullah smashed 50 off 46 balls, hitting a maximum and five fours, while wicketkeeper Imran Khan struck 22. Kamran Hussain and Imranullah Aslam bagged two wickets each and Muhammad Mudassar took one.



Stags were then dismissed two runs short of the target as Abid Ali claimed two wickets for 23 runs, while Atif Jabbar, Shabbir Ali, Nadeem Javed and Imran Rind took one wicket each. Faisal Mubashir (36) and Naeemuddin (32) were the top scorers for Stags.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2014.

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